Red Admiral are also having a good late season in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. I have just seen one flying in lIght rain. I agree, the butterfly of 2017.

I always enjoy looking at Chalkhill Blues and always seem to end up with plenty of photographs.

An early season encounter on 2 May shows its beauty, but yesterday's encounter with a veteran on the Norfolk coast is my favorite and looking out of the window, probably one of my last encounters with any butterfly in 2017.

My previous experience at this site has been plenty of sightings flying or settled either high or partially obscured by foliage. This year I visited the site early in the day, between 9 and 10 and maybe this accounts for why I found up to 10 settled low down. However, the thickness of the Blackthorn...

Agreed, a great thread, thank you for your thoughts.

Thank you Guy, a very plausible suggestion. Marbled Whites were about in good numbers at the time and the size seems about right. This image shows the shape of the object a bit better and is also consistent with the description on the UKB webpage.

I encountered a male Chalk Hill Blue at Therfield Heath in July with a small spherical white object on the front of its thorax. Has anybody got a suggestion as to what it might be? As an aside many of the Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns at this site had red mites.

This butterfly was a real bonus in 2016. I made an early start at Fermyn on 12 July and on the walk from the car noticed this little beauty roosting on a knapweed by the side of the path. It allowed a close approach from all sides. The day went on to be a great success, with all the usual suspects s...

I took my favorite on 16th January and had to make do with the telephone camera. Alas, no such early sightings this year.
Although it was cold, it was sunny and the south facing corner of a local quarry was clearly warm enough for a flight.

I encountered a very amenable individual on the Norfolk coast in July. After perching on an upturned rowing boat and allowing me to photograph the wing undersides it perched at eye level on brambles and provided me with a nice front view.

I was fortunate to be in West Cornwall in late May which unlike most of England was dry and sunny. A highlight of the trip were the Marsh Fritillaries especially my first sight of a female laying. The pair display distint differences in the hind wing underside, something I had not noticed before. Th...

I saw fewer Common Blues in my garden this year than usual. The first photograph is of a female, that I saw in late August that may give rise to better numbers in 2017. However, at a nearby site in early August they were quite numerous. This settled male did not relinquish his perch despite repeated...

I also came across reasonable numbers throughout the season and photographed a few. However, my choice of favorite is simple since it was my first encounter with this particular aberration. Seen resting on bramble in sand dunes on North Norfolk coast in late July.

Roger
Thank you very much.

Please can any of the experts help me identify the following that I saw in Spain (Basque/LaRioja border), in mid August. The area was hilly at about 500 m, open rocky, wooded scrub. I suspect that 1 might be Silver-spotted skipper, could 2 be Oberthur's> For 3 & 4 maybe Chalkhill. The apparent l...

Guy
Thanks again for your help.

Thank you for helping in what is clearly a very difficult genus to speciate. I have some upperside shots that may help, I believe 4 & 5 are the same individual, 6, 7 & 8 not the same but on current form... I spent about two hours walking back and forth over about 200 m of track so it is high...

Guy
Thank you very much for your guidance. I shall study my other photographs closely.

I would appreciate an opinion as to what these Blues are. Seen last week in the north of Serbia along the edge of an irrigation canal by the Danube. Despite it being an area of intensive agriculture, butterflies were numerous, feeding on the salvias that were flowering on the un-managed bits of land...

I was at Fermyn yesterday morning and I also thought they were rather worn. Saw five (all males) including one that appears to have a curious walk.